Say my name... say my name

Oh yeah, you can really say my name now with my new name card! Made by a dear friend and ex-flatmate, I have to say it's pretty hot! It's also nice and retro with that tape motif going on... all I need now is for someone to give me a gig as direct result from getting the name card... you know you want to make it all worthwhile!

Party time!

Oh yeah, this one was a real cracker at the New Derby Bar on Morrison Hill Road in Happy Valley. I was a bit nervous about playing, especially since alot of friends were coming, but it all worked out!

With a big posse there, the playlist was pretty much a range of rock, punk, emo, classic hip-hop and super cheese. Think Taking Back Sunday, Thrice, NOFX, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers meets Beastie Boys and Run DMC, meets like um... Right Said Fred.

I'm too sexy for my shirt baby! Awesome party, makes you think clubbing in Hong Kong can be much more than acting cool in an over-priced bar to a soundtrack of forgettable tunes.

The bottom line? Arranging parties is a great way to go!

I've found The Cure!

Versatile rockers The Cure swung into town recently, playing an awesome three-hour set. It would be unfair to dub their style "goth rock", considering they played quite a few styles ranging from new-wavy pop-rock, dark metal to atmospheric instrumental jams. I fully expected the hits one after another, but they surprised me with their range and musicianship. While songs like Inbetween Days, with the "yesterday I got so old, I felt like I could die" rallying call pleased an predominantly older crowd , they also pulled out some spectacular hidden gems that were great to hear on first listen.

They had a weird kind of energy, made even more enigmatic by the fact that lead singer Robert Smith rarely said anything, even at one point repeating "hello, hello, hello" in the middle of a song. He didn't even jump or run about the stage, preferring to prance and stroll about. And the funny thing is the fans rather loved it, worshiping him more with every effeminate gesture.

Great gig. Venue left something to be desired. AsiaWorld-Expo is a big venue, with decent sound and certainly something that Hong Kong lacks. But it is managed in a very "let's prevent fun" style of management. While we were cheap and preferred not to fork out the $700-ish (around US$100) for front row tickets (I think for pretty obvious reasons), ushers in the seated areas kept on reminding people to stay out of the aisles and keep to their assigned seats, which is ridiculous considering it's a rock concert and people want to have fun, not be a total dumb ass sitting down all night. They should consider switching to sections. But anyway... can't win them all, eh?